Notebook: Rattler, Williams as advertised

For the first time in a while for the spring, there was zero drama regarding who would be Oklahoma’s starting quarterback.

Spencer Rattler had cemented that with the way he performed in the 2020 season, helping the Sooners to their sixth consecutive Big 12 championship and a 55-20 win over Florida in the Cotton Bowl.

Strangely enough, though, because of COVID-19, this spring marked the first time Rattler had gone through spring ball in his three years in Norman.

The difference to him, not necessarily physical, but it’s something that will help the Sooners moving forward and was on display during the spring game Saturday afternoon.

“Personally, I would think leadership was the biggest growth spurt for me, just being able to go through that first spring with all my guys and go through every day meetings and walkthroughs and practices,” Rattler said. “Just being able to be a vocal leader in there and kinda set the tone for the offense. I think that's the biggest part of my game where I grew.”

Rattler didn’t have a lot of chances to shine, but he did get the crowd going with an opening pass to Eric Gray to start the game and connected on a 50-yard strike with Mario Williams to start the second half.

Red (defense) started with a 21-0 advantage, but it was White (offense) that pulled out a 30-29 victory in a very clean game in front of 22,700 fans.

Rattler was 6-of-14 passing for 116 yards. No quarterbacks had a turnover.

“And how he plays, it’s not a fluke,” linebacker Caleb Kelly said. “You’ve seen him in high school, you’ve seen him in college. It’s not a fluke. That’s who he is. He plays football. He’s a football player and it’ll be that way all through in the NFL and everything. That’s the faith I have in him, for sure.”

Williams seizes moment

Rattler wasn’t the question mark heading into this one, but all OU fans wanted to see what freshman quarterback Caleb Williams could do.

That answer is quite a bit.

Williams was the second quarterback out there and commanded the offense numerous times, showing his ability to run and throw. More than anything, though, was how decisive he was in whatever decision he was looking to make.

“I thought Caleb was solid,” head coach Lincoln Riley said. “I thought he was pretty decisive on the day. You guys hear me use that word all the time when referencing quarterbacks but I think that's so important at that position and I thought he had one of the most decisive days that he probably had all spring out there today so he just kind of felt calm and in control really the whole time.

“Made good decisions, made some pretty good throws, got the ball out of his hands, so I thought he, for the first time out there and kind of in that moment, I thought he did a nice job and he's still got so many things to clean up and learn as we go forward but he certainly has the ability to do a lot of things well.”

Williams completed 10 of 11 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. He was also the game’s leading rusher with 61 yards on six carries.

“He's doing a good job. He did a good job today with what Coach Riley was calling, just running the offense,” Rattler said. “I'd say my role with him, I feel like I'm the big bro. He looks off me and learns from me, and same with all the other guys. I feel like I'm the ... I'm not the oldest in the group, but out of all those young guys, I am the oldest. I feel like the big bro in there so I try to set the tone on the field and set the example."